Hawaii's bowl game opponent is set if old foe Cincinnati wins this week. Hawaii may play Tulane
Star-Bulletin staff
"I was told that if Cincinnati beats East Carolina Friday night, 100 percent (UH is) playing Tulane," ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl executive director Jim Donovan said.
Donovan said the agreement was brokered by bowl owner ESPN and Conference USA.
If East Carolina wins, Cincinnati would not be bowl eligible, and Conference USA could not fill its five bowl spots. The Hawaii Bowl, which is tied into the Western Athletic Conference and C-USA, would then be free to pursue schools from other conferences, with South Florida as the leading contender. But there would be, "potentially other possibilities, too," Donovan said.
Should South Florida not materialize as the candidate, "It's going to be a lot of telephone calls," Donovan said.
At his weekly news conference yesterday, Hawaii coach June Jones said he isn't yet worried who UH's opponent will be.
"I don't even know who the options are," he said.
Hawaii (9-3) was the first team in the country to accept a bowl invitation, after notching its seventh win by beating San Jose State on Nov. 2.
Tulane's (7-5) last postseason appearance was the 1998 Liberty Bowl. The Green Wave beat BYU 41-27 to finish undefeated at 12-0.
